I have always loved salad. In part this may be because I was raised with it: in my family, we have a big salad with dinner at least 4-5 times a week. Salads often get the reputation of being a diet food that may not actually taste good, but this is undoubtedly a myth, and the people who say/think these things have likely never had a really good salad! Salads allow you to incorporate many different wonderful, fresh ingredients, and there are endless flavor possibilities. I like to use a spring mix when I make salads, which will typically include things like romaine, arugula, radicchio, baby spinach, etc., which are all much more mild tasting that kale (which can be quite bitter and tough). The dark leafy greens are a great source of fiber, folate, carotenoids, vitamins C and A, calcium, and iron, and combined with additional ingredients is an extremely wholesome and hearty meal.
Getting on to the recipe, this salad is both fresh and hearty while being simple and very easy to prepare. It combines grapefruit, dried cherries, pecans, and a little feta to create a tangy, spicy, and refreshing blend of flavors. Because this salad is on the lighter side, I'm also sharing how I make sweet potato fries which can be a great addition to a salad, adding complex carbs to make it a more filling meal.
Grapefruit Salad
Ingredients
Spring mix lettuce (or anything else you prefer)
1 grapefruit, peeled and sectioned (video on how to do this
here)
Handful dried cherries
Handful spiced pecans, chopped very roughly (I get mine from Trader Joe's, but you could just use regular pecans)
Handful crumbled feta or goat cheese
Dressing -
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1 clove garlic crushed
1/2 cup olive oil
Pepper to taste
Of course in terms of the salad toppings, it's completely up to personal preference as to how much you use of what, and you can switch up some of the ingredients (for example, using different kinds of nuts or crumbled cheese). The other really nice thing about this salad is that it's really easy to prep in advance, so you could bring it to work/class with the dressing on the side.
Moving onto the sweet potatoes, I have found that there are a number of things you can do to get really crispy fries in the oven, and since they're baked rather than fried, they're much healthier but taste delicious! After cutting the potatoes into fries, sprinkle them with a little cornstarch (which will help them become crispy later on). You want the potatoes to be lightly coated, but there shouldn't be any clumps of cornstarch. Next toss the potatoes with some olive oil, salt, and any herbs/spices you would like (I used dried thyme and some garlic salt). Line the potatoes on a baking sheet with parchment paper, making sure they aren't overlapping so that they'll cook evenly. Place the fries in an oven preheated to 400˚F (200˚C) for 15 minutes. This will cook the potatoes for the most part, and to get them crispy, switch the oven to convection roast and bake another 15 minutes tossing a couple times throughout. If you don't have an oven that does convection roast, you can still get the fries crispy, but it could take up to double the time (just be patient... it's worth it!).
This meal is low fat, full of vitamins and fiber, and combines a lot of lovely flavors which compliment each other. Particularly for post-Christmas eating, this salad is great because it won't make you feel heavy, but is instead a satisfying meal to feel good about.
xx
Erin
No comments:
Post a Comment